Playing Matchmaker
by TheMipstaz
Summary: ShinoxKiba, "I'm serious, Kiba. If you'd just let me help you, I bet I could…" "And supposing I let you help me out, what's the catch?" "Nothing really. You get the guy you want and I get to play matchmaker for a while." "Fine, but…" "Deal." Kiba snickered to himself. There was no way she could pull it off. Besides, Kiba didn't need anyone to meddle in his love life… COMPLETE
1. Truce…For Now

**Okay, so this is my first Naruto fic, so please be nice :) Anyways, I was soooo tired of the cliché idea of having a character fall for an OC, so I decided to make my OC more of a side character, hence the title "Playing Matchmaker." I'm also going to try and make my AN's as minimal as possible since they can get kinda annoying. Kay, that's all. Enjoy!**

**Crap, I forgot the disclaimer: well, here it is. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO…yeah, that's all. **

* * *

"Kiba! Hey! Kiba!"

Kiba, who was walking with Akamaru, turned around to see a spiky, blond head run out of Ichiraku's Ramen House. "Oh hey, what's up, Naruto?"

Excitedly, the hyperactive boy replied, "Did'ja hear the news? Well, well, didja, didja?"

Confused, Kiba responded, "What news? What's going on?"

"There's some new shinobi in the village," Naruto explained, practically bouncing up and down in enthusiasm. "They sound really cool too. I don't know who they are, but I plan to find out. Wanna come with me?"

Kiba shrugged. He had nothing else to do. "Sure, let's go." Akamaru barked his agreement as well.

As the two of them began to walk towards the Hokage's home, Kiba said, "So, what kind of shinobi are we talking about, Naruto? Like from another village or what?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, I don't think so, since I heard they don't have head protectors with the symbol of a Hidden Village like us. Sakura said that they're some old friends of Grandma Tsunade or something."

Kiba nodded. "I see. Oh hey, Shino, Neji, Hinata. How's it going?"

"Oh, hello, Kiba," said the soft voice of the Hyuuga heiress. "We're just relaxing after training. What are you and Naruto doing?"

The two Hyuugas and one Aburame were sitting in an outside cafe that happen to be on the street Kiba and Naruto were walking on. Barking happily, Akamaru ran up to Hinata and began licking her face affectionately.

Over the laughing of Hinata, Naruto explained what he and Kiba were up to. At the end, he asked, "So, you guys want to go see the newcomers too?"

"Well, if it's a-alright with you," Hinata responded shyly.

"Very well," Neji said indifferently.

Shino just grunted his consent.

* * *

The 5 of them, plus Akamaru, eventually made it to the Hokage's house to find her, Sakura, Shizune, and several chunin talking to an elderly and frail looking woman at the head of a small group of perhaps 20 people–a mixture of men, women, and children, all of varying ages, though all of the children seemed to be under the age of ten. Despite that, it was not that which caught the young shinobis' attentions. What they were really staring at was what were at the side of each and every one of the strangers: cats.

There small, average-looking, domestic cats, and then there were "big" cats–huge felines the size of tigers, lions, etc.

One such beast was sitting contentedly beside the feet of the elderly woman speaking to Tsuande. He was pure white with black stripes and only the silvery fur tinging his black stripes gave away that his age matched that of the hunched over, wrinkled woman next to him.

At the young ninjas' approach, said cat switched his attention from Tsunade, who was still talking, to them, cocking his head in a silent question. Noticing, the woman turned as well, saying, "Well, Tsunade, could these possibly be the young ninja you were just speaking of?"

"Huh?" The Hokage suddenly noticed their new audience. "Oh, hello there. Shiroihi, these are indeed those very same ninja, or some of them at least. I'm sure the girl you mentioned–Kimyoname was it?–will get along just fine with them. _Isn't that right?_" At the last sentence, Tsunade's voice suddenly sharpened as she gave the 5 young shinobi in question, but mostly Naruto, her best _or-else-you-answer-to-me_ death glare.

"O-of course," stammered Naruto, quickly stumbling back to a safe distance. The others all nodded as well.

_Kimyoneme, _mused Neji_. Why would someone name their child that?_

"Excellent," the Hokage replied, turning her attention back to the woman named Shiroihi. "So, where is Kimyoname right now? I'm sure she'd love to meet our young ninja as soon as possible if your theory about her being bored because she has no one her own age to spend time with is correct.

"Yes," the elderly woman agreed. "But, as I said before, Kimyoname prefers to be called by her nickname." Lifting her head, Shiroihi cried, "Mekko! Kaene!"

Tsunade blinked and suddenly there were two figures kneeling in the dust.

"You called, Elder Shiroihi?"

"Ah, yes," Shiroihi said with a small smile, motioning for the teenage girl who had spoken to stand up–which she did–and continued. "Young Mekko, being as there are none in our Kiishi clan who are of your age, or even near it, I am giving you permission to accept the companionship of these kind shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village throughout the duration of our stay here."

The figure on the left, the teenage girl named Kimyoname–or Mekko–turned to size up the group of 5 still watching, nodding, and replied, "Thank you, Elder Shiroihi." Walking towards the group, she stopped in front of them, brushed her long black bangs out of her eyes, and said in a much more lax tone, "Hey, what's up?"

When she had turned completely to face the 4 chunin and 1 jonin, there was a sudden soft gasp, slipping from Hinata's mouth before she could slap her hand over it.

_H-her eyes! _Hinata wailed inwardly, doing her best not to quail at the sight. _What's wrong with her eyes? _

The small, slightly lopsided smile that had graced Mekko's lips vanished and her eyes grew cold–her _multi-colored_ eyes. It was that which had caused Hinata's shocked reaction: the fact that one of Mekko's eyes was yellow–which would've been unusual enough on its own–and the other was blue. In addition to that, while Mekko's blue eye seemed normal enough, her yellow eye was not. The pupil of the teenage girl's right eye was a slit, like that of an animal.

_So that's why she was given a name that meant _"strange eyes," Neji realized, gazing at the girl's eyes in a rather impassive fashion.

At the gasp, the second figure–a large black, panther-like cat speckled white and of a size to rival Akamaru's–let out a warning growl and took a threatening step forward.

Letting out a squeak of fright, Hinata took a step back, blundering into Kiba and nearly falling. He easily caught her and supported his trembling teammate while answering the challenge with a growl of his own, his narrowed eyes clearly saying, _Back off_. Akamaru barked harshly, loyally backing up his master.

Neji, Kiba, and Shino all tensed, prepared to fight this newcomer to defend their friend, as Mekko took a step forward to hiss and curled her upper lip at them, just enough to reveal fangs only slightly smaller than Kiba's. Her own eyes retorted back, _Why should I?_ while her sneer said, _A girl with _white_ eyes openly insulted mine. Don't you find that just the tiniest bit strange?_

Kiba snarled at Mekko's unspoken remark relayed through her eyes, claws extending from his hands. His grip on Hinata, who was still in his arms, tightened. At this, Shino stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Kiba, his kikaichu starting to crawl on his jacket to make themselves known.

Mekko's nostrils flared at the sudden movement from the hooded boy. She was impressed that he had managed to follow and understand their silent exchanges. Suddenly the 16 year-old cat-nin noticed that Kiba had stiffened when the kikaichu-boy's shoulder brushed his. In addition, the scent of his anger and protectiveness had wavered just slightly, as though he had been distracted. She smirked mentally. _Hmmm…_

Though the Hidden Leaf shinobi and Mekko were only seconds away from fighting, Tsunade had placed all her attention not on them, but on Shiroihi. The 5th Hokage was curious to know how the older woman would handle it. Surprisingly, the leader of the Kiishi clan didn't seem to have any intention of intervening. Shiroihi was simply waiting for the outcome. Her bonded, the beast that so resembled a white tiger, was even waving its tail contentedly as it gazed at the 6 shinobi about to rip each other apart.

The truth was the clan elder had been considering interfering but had decided against it to allow Mekko a chance to prove herself to these ninja who were to be her friends. After all, she didn't wish for the young cat-handler to seem weak and dependent. No one wants to be friends with a weakling.

Just when it seemed all hell was about to break loose–well, to those who were aware of it–the stiff apprehension before the battle was shattered by the ridiculously loud voice of a certain knuckleheaded ninja, the only one who was completely oblivious to the growing tension and silent exchanges between cat and dog handler.

"Hi! I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I'm goingn to be the next Hokage after Grandma Tsunade!"

Mekko slowly hid her fangs and relaxed from her slightly crouched attack position–a small amused smile playing across her features–to raise one eye brow to glance questioningly at first Kiba, then Shino and Neji.

Kiba just shrugged, relaxing from his own attack stance, while Shino's bugs retreated back up his sleeves, and Neji gave her a small nod, a nod that meant one thing: truce…for the time being.


	2. Piece of Cake

**Watch out, my OC has a potty-mouth XD**

* * *

After their hazardous first meeting and introductions, the group–consisting of Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Neji, Mekko, and now Sakura–decided to head back to the Village. By the time they reached the very heart of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Mekko had associated herself with the rest of Konoha 11.

She had met Ino and Tenten at the Yamanakas' flower shop, where the two were carefully pruning and tending to the delicate plants; Choji had been spotted eating with Shikamaru at his favorite BBQ place; and she met The-Green-Spandex-Jumpsuit-Wearing-Crusader-of-Righteousness himself when he crashed into Naruto while running the 500 laps around the village his former sensei (with some stupid name she hadn't bothered to remember) had dared him to–_backwards_.

This, of course, had ensued a yelling match during which had involved a lot of creative name-calling (which got almost everyone–Shino and Neji excluded–sniggering behind their hands at the obscene, yet true, insults) and had ended with Lee striking his 'good guy' pose and beginning a rant about the "Unconquerable Power of Youth and All That is Good!"

In the end; once they had succeeded in dragging a laughing Naruto away from Lee, who was still spouting nonsense at a ridiculously fast pace; the group began to split. Hinata and Neji left to meditate at Hinata's house, Sakura went to do some errands for Lady Tsunade, and Shino disappeared after quietly saying something about having to attend to his insects. That left just Naruto, Kiba, and Mekko–with their animal companions too of course.

"So…you guys wanna chill in the forest or something?" Kiba asked with a shrug. There were always fun things to do on the outskirts of the village.

"Sure," said Naruto cheerily, leading the way.

Mekko followed, having no objections.

Once in the forest, however, as something caught Naruto's eye, causinig him to say,"Hey, what's that?" Without a second thought, the blond ninja went running through the trees in pursuit of whatever had caused him momentary ADHD.

"Wait–Naruto!" Kiba yelled in vain. But it was too late, the idiot of a ninja was already gone. The dog-nin sighed, shaking his head and closed his eyes. He'd be able to track Naruto easy, but the hyperactive moron just ran so damn fast…

_Besides, it's not like I can just abandon our _guest_ here anyways, _Kiba thought, making a face at the word "guest."

Letting out another sigh, the all black-clad chunin leaned nonchalantly against the trunk of a tree, crossing his arms over his chest as Akamaru settled devotedly at this side.

"Good riddance if you ask me."

"Huh?" Kiba's eyes snapped open and up, to the 16 year-old sitting on the branch of a tree directly in front of Kiba. With one leg swinging idly in front of her, Mekko stroked the soft black fur of Kaene who was lazing beside her.

_That was pretty fast, and silent to top it off, _Kiba thought, impressed._ I didn't even hear hear her…_

"Hm, whatever you say," he replied, refusing to agree with someone who had scared and threaten to hurt his teammate. She had made even Shino react to her aggression. Kiba suddenly felt a slight shiver run down his spine when he recalled how Shino's shoulder had brushed against his own and–

"So how long have you liked him?" Mekko's question froze Kiba on the spot.

"W-what?"

"How. Long. Have. You. Liked. Him?" Mekko repeated, staring Kiba straight in the eye with an evil grin forming on her face as she spoke to him as if she was talking to a 5 year-old.

His cheeks beginning to tinge pink, Kiba broke the eye contact and mumbled, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh please," Mekko responded, rolling her eyes. "Don't play dumb with me, dog-boy. Or, if you do, at least _try_ to make it convincing." Her grin widened considerably. "C'mon, just tell me. How long have you liked that Shino guy, the one with the bugs? Half a year? 3 months? 2 weeks?"

"3 years," was the nearly inaudible response.

The 16 year-old interragator whistled. "Wow, no wonder you reeked of disappointment when he just up and left."

This jibe immediately put Kiba on the defensive. "I did not!"

"Oh yes you did," Mekko smirked. "I'm surprised even the others didn't smell it."

"Shut up."

She snorted. "But what if I said I could get you Shino? You know, get him to like you back."

Kiba sneered, trying to be his old confident self–and doing a damn good job by the looks of it. "Yeah, _right_." As he sarcastically dragged out the last word, the eyes and voice of the youngest member of the Inuzuka clan held complete skepticism and incompetence, but his scent said otherwise to the ever-observant foreigner.

Taking a deep breath, Mekko could detect traces of Kiba's sudden interest despite how far away she was. She could smell his excitement, eagerness, and…hope. The cat handler smiled.

"I'm serious, Kiba. If you'd just let me help you, I bet I could get him to come around. It just takes some persuading, you'll see."

Kiba snorted. "And supposisng I let you help me out, what's the catch?"

"Nothing really," Mekko answered truthfully. "You get the guy you want, and I get to play matchmaker for a while. It'll keep me from getting bored while my clan stays here."

The 16 year-old partner of Akamaru sniffed doubtfully. "Fine, but only if you can first prove that you can get to be a close friend of his. Otherwise, there's no point in you even trying."

"Deal." Mekko flashed a toothy grin. "Piece of cake." With that, Mekko got up and raced through the trees in search of her new friend to-be, leaving Kiba to snicker to himself.

It had taken Kiba over half a year of being on the same team with Shino when they were genin for him to stop hating and ignoring Kiba, and it had taken a whole year for them to become friends and eventually best friends. Not to mention Mekko had already made a bad first impression by intimidating Hinata. After all, Shino was quite protective of his teammates even if he didn't display it for the whole world to see. No, that was Naruto's job.

That idiot of a girl had no chance.

Besides, Kiba didn't need anyone to meddle in his love life…

* * *

_Shit, _Mekko thought, leaping from tree to tree_. Fuck, shit, fucking shit, damn. Now I actually gotta find some way to get him to trust me, and he didn't exactly look like a social butterfly. Plus he's probably pissed I scared the crap out of his friend. _

Kaene, easily keeping pace, growled softly.

"I know, I know. I did kinda ask for it, but what else could I have done?" Mekko grumbled. "Whatever, now all I have to do is find…what was his name again? Oh yeah, Shino." She came to halt on the outskirts of the village and lifted her nose to scent the wind. Opening her mouth to taste the air, Mekko flashed her fangs triumphantly. "Found him. Now the fun can begin…"

* * *

**Sooo? How's it so far? Reviews are appreciated ^_^**


	3. Sparks

**Gaaaah! Sorry for not updating this story (or anything) for foreverrrr DX I've just been busy–and lazy. Anyways, I'm back, so enjoy :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

* * *

Despite having met that new girl who called herself Mekko Kiishi over an hour ago, Shino's kinkai were still squirming restlessly within their confines of his skin. Ever since coming into contact with the girl's foreign chakra, they'd been acting unusually–like the chakra has been poisoned or drugged. It made little sense to him.

_But no matter, _he supposed,_ so long as they still obey me and allow me to protect those who matter to me. What she did to Hinata is still unforgivable, though. I do not think we will get along well._

Burrowing his head further down into his high collar, Shino shoved his hands deeper in his pockets as he tried to walk as discreetly through the village as possible. No need to draw unnecessary attention to himself.

"Hey there–Shino, was it?"

_Damn, so much for that…_

Turning to face the cat-loving girl, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere by his side (perhaps a jutsu of some kind), Shino chose not to respond and simply nodded. In a slight way, she reminded him of Naruto, except his ridiculous grins were far more genuine than the one plastered onto _this_ girl's face.

"Right, well…" the overly-excited demeanor of Mekko seemed to have shriveled up and died under the cold, calculating stare of Shino. "How are you today?" she chirped pleasantly.

"Fine," was the curt reply. Shino kept walking and Mekko kept following close behind him. Screwing up her face in annoyance, she mouthed darkly, "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you," behind his back before cheerily saying, "That's good. So, uh, what about the weather lately, huh?"

"It's fine." _Someone please save me from this God-awful kunoichi! _Shino thought and walked faster.

"Oh hey, Shino. What's up?" The Aburame almost smiled with relief at the familiar sound of his teammate's voice.

Barely containing his onslaught of emotion, Shino answered, "Hello, Kiba."

Kiba grinned. To most people, this short greeting would've seemed rather rude and brusque, considering how long the two had been friends, but Kiba knew it was Shino's way of running up to him, hugging him, and crying out, "I love you! Thanks for coming to save my butt from this chick!" The subtle desperation in his voice gave it all away.

Flashing a smug "I-told-you-so" look at Mekko for her obvious failure to befriend Shino, Kiba slyly said, "I didn't know you were friends with Mekko, Shino."

"I'm not." The slight deepening of his voice displayed clearly to Kiba that Shino was rather hurt that Kiba would assume such an outrageous thing. Bringing the collar of his dark jacket up to the bottom of his goggles, Kiba recognized Shino to be sulking.

Biting back a chuckle, the brunette replied, "Oh, then what're you doin' here with her?"

"Leaving," was the terse reply. "Let's go. I want to try out a new technique with you in the practice fields."

As the two boys left, Kiba stuck out his tongue at Mekko over his shoulder. _Take that, you stupid cat lover. _

* * *

"Ugh," Kiba grunted as he rolled heavily out of the way of Shino's swarming kinkai. They had been going at it for over an hour now, and Kiba was starting to tire. Shino's new technique was a new mutant breed of kinkai that his father had apparently been developing for a while now.

_And of course _I'm_ the practice dummy, _Kiba thought grumpily as he threw himself to the side once more, but he wasn't really annoyed. In fact, Kiba was rather pleased that Shino had chosen him; but that didn't mean that he had to be happy about being chased about by a whole crapload of killer kinkai while Akamaru sat on the sidelines watching with what Kiba swore was a bemused expression on his face.

Finally Kiba cried, "Okay, stop! Stop"–pant, pant–"Shino…I think"–gasp–"they work."

Shino, who hadn't moved muscle since they had started sparring, lowered his arms, calling his bugs back to him. Walking forward, he stood next to Kiba–who was splayed out on the ground where he had collapsed in mock exhaustion–and leaned over saying, "Kiba, are you alright?"

Opening one eye, Kiba flashed an impish grin before sweeping Shino's legs out from under him so the bug handler landed on the ground with a thump. "Yup, it's nice down here. Don'tcha think?"

With a grunt, Shino attempted to get up off the grass, but Kiba grabbed one arm and pleaded, "Oh come on, Shino, don't get up yet. Just stay here with me for a second. How long has it been since we just hung out like this, just us?"

"Twenty hours and thirteen minutes," replied Shino automatically, but he halted his movements and consented to Kiba's wishes, laying down rather awkwardly.

Smiling with satisfaction, Kiba came to a sudden realization. _He knew exactly how long it'd been since we were last together, alone. Does that mean…_

Finding a sudden burst of courage, Kiba chose to make his move. Sitting up, he scooted until he was sitting on the bit of the hill above Shino. Gazing down at Shino's face, which was upside down from his point of view, Kiba leaned over until their faces were inches apart. All at once, the dog-nin's breath caught in his throat as what he was about to do hit him.

Swallowing his fear, Kiba rasped, "H-hey, Shino."

"Hello, Kiba." Confusion and genuine curiosity laced Shino's voice.

"We'll always be friends right? Like, no matter what happens?"

"Of course," Shino said. Kiba wondered what was going on through his mind right now. "What would cause you to say that? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just fine," Kiba whispered as he leaned down and closed the gap between their lips, hoping with all his heart that sparks would fly.

* * *

**Feedback makes me a happier person ^_^**


	4. At Last

**Dear MikaE123 and asexyaquacorn,**

**Thank you for guilt-tripping me into FINALLY updating this story (and thanks for doing it on your account instead of just yelling at me as a guest. I hate that -.-). Anyways, this probably sucks, but I've kinda fallen out of this fandom, so sorry. I'm hoping to finish up TRG soon too, so I can post stories in my current obsessions (Death Note and Yu-Gi-Oh GX). **

**Sincerely, TheMipstaz :)**

**P.S. I did not double check this, so sorry for any errors. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

Slowly straightening up, his face flushed, Kiba glanced down at Shino's unmoving figure. Most of his face was hidden once again behind his collar and hood while his black goggles gleamed in the sun. He hadn't moved at all, and for once Kiba was at a loss for how Shino felt.

It felt like their genin years all over again; Shino simply being Shino and Kiba hopelessly trying to interpret it. But this time there was one difference: Kiba cared. Back when they had been 13, Kiba hadn't given a damn about what was up with that weird Shino kid–or about anything, really. Now, the slight quickening of Shino's shallow breathing and his tiny shift in position all meant something as if he had spoken aloud. And most of it weren't good signs.

"Sh-Shino?" Kiba tried, desperate to know what was happening in the complex mechanism that was Shino's mind.

Said boy didn't respond, but the dog-nin noticed the slight movement of his goggles that indicated Shino had furrowed his brow, which was never a good sign.

"I'm sorry, Kiba, but I must go now," Shino said in his usual deep monotone before quickly getting up and vanishing in a whirl of kikai.

Kiba's face fell when he saw the fashion in which his teammate had gone. It was a new technique that Shino had told him he'd developed precisely to get away from an enemy as soon as possible. Did this mean that he now considered Kiba an enemy? But then why had his voice sounded so forced, like he was making an effort to ensure that Kiba couldn't read into its tone?

So lost was Kiba in his thoughts that he didn't react when Akamaru bounded up to him, completely oblivious to his master's inner turmoil, and barked loudly at him, wondering why Kiba was just sitting there in the grass instead of heading home to feed him. When his first attempt failed, the huge white hound resorted to crouching down, wiggling his hindquarters for a moment, and then pouncing–bowling his master head over heels.

_That_ snapped Kiba out of it.

"Oof!" the 15 year-old grunted as he hit the ground and glared up at the happy-go-lucky 150 pound beast currently laying sprawled out on his chest, tongue lolling out as he panted happily in Kiba's face. "Well, hello to you too. Now get off me!" Shoving Akamaru off so he could breathe again, Kiba got to his feet and brushed off the dust from his clothes. "You didn't have to do that, you know," said Kiba sharply.

Whimpering, Akamaru lowered his tail and ears in shame before rolling onto his back, his paws curved in the air–the perfect image of a dog begging for forgiveness.

Kiba took one look at his pet and partner like that before his annoyance melted like ice and he laughed, scratching Akamaru's stomach. "Alright, you win."

Woofing joyfully, Akamaru rolled back onto his feet and took off in the direction of Kiba's house. It was his lunchtime!

"Hey, wait up," his master called out, racing to catch up, all previous depressing thoughts of a certain insect handler banished from his mind.

Almost.

* * *

Shino paused at the steps to his house, his kikai fidgeting as though they had electricity coursing through them. It puzzled Shino like nothing else. Ever since his and Kiba's lips had met, they had been restless, almost to the point of hyperactivity. Entering his home and habitually slipping off his sandals, Shino was halfway to his father's study before he froze.

What was he doing?

Never once in his life had he ever consulted his father for advice before. Rather, Shibi had always easily been the one to read into Shino and give what advice he deemed necessary before his son had ever had to ask It was quite a relief for Shino, who'd never had a way with words anyways.

However, Shino had a feeling his father would pick up on Shino's inner turmoil and offer sound advice this time around. No, Shino decided he would just have to figure it out for himself, which meant one thing: he needed time to think.

Pivoting on his heel, Shino quickly retraced his steps and left the premises, heading for the forest. Being around nature always had seemed to have a calming effect on the bug handler.

* * *

Shade-dappled leaves rustled gently in the almost nonexistent breeze. Then a shadow flitted though a patch of sunlight that decorated the forest floor near a clear-running brooke–the favorite spot of a certain someone. Shino stepped out from behind a tree to settle comfortably in a cross-legged position by the small stream.

Letting a nearly silent sigh, Shino relaxed and allowed the kikai to slowly trickle from him and burrow into the thick, lush grass that surrounded him in a rare treat of freedom while their master took a break.

Straightening his back in preparation for his meditation, Shino took a deep breath and gradually let his eyes flicker close, his thoughts scattering to wherever the breeze chose to take them.

Mentally taking note of the huge knot of anxiety and fear and uncertainty that had been lumped in his gut but pushed away by the rational part of his brain, Shino gingerly allowed himself to focus on it and began to examine it, wondering how to unravel his confused emotions and discover what lay at the heart of it.

Taking it step by step, Shino chose to concentrate on the most recent event staring at him in the face: the kiss. How _did_ Shino feel about it? Bewildered was probably most prominent. And then surprised. And then…happy? Shino would've blinked in surprise if he hadn't already closed his eyes to collect his thoughts.

Was Shino pleased that he and Kiba had kissed? The more the Aburame thought about it, the more he recognized that the emotion he had been feeling niggling at the back of his mind was indeed joy.

Rather satisfied with his quick progress, Shino found that the huge 'knot' had lost its outer sheath and was slightly smaller and less tangled than before.

Next, Shino began to search his memory and analyze all of the more recent, and strange, behavior Kiba seemed to be exhibiting around him. Before, Shino had just pinned it all on the the dog-nin's natural quirks, but looking at it closer, Shino began to realize that it fell right into this new concept of Kiba being attracted to him: the way Kiba's face seemed to tint pink whenever they got close enough to accidently brush, the way Akamaru seemed to be 'laughing' at Kiba whenever his face grew this color, and the way Kiba's sharp, canine eyes seemed to linger slightly longer than necessary on Shino whenever he thought the bug-nin not to be looking.

However, Shino's kikai missed _nothing_.

Checking back on the 'knot' in his gut, Shino was surprised to find it completely unwound already. Apparently things had not been nearly as complicated as he'd originally thought.

How curious…

Now all that was left was an odd fluttery feeling in his stomach, a feeling that suddenly intensified tenfold as a familiar voice tentatively called out, "Shino?"

All of a sudden, Shino's heartbeat seemed to be having a a competition with itself to see how fast and loud it could pound before the whole world noticed. Opening his eyes, to the world tinted black behind his goggles, Shino looked up to see Kiba perched in a branch above his head.

"Kiba," Shino greeted, his voice surprisingly calm despite the racing of his pulse.

Kiba flashed his classic, lopsided grin, his doglike face lighting up with glee as he leapt down with ease and calmly loped toward Shino. It was then that Shino really began to study his canine-like teammate and best friend. The happy, bouncing gait in which Kiba approached him and the pure openness of his cheerful expression eased Shino until the uncharacteristic nerves he felt in his belly were almost gone.

Plopping down beside Shino, Kiba tipped his head to the side–much like a curious puppy–and said, "Sooo, what's up?"

Receiving no reply, a common thing with Shino, the younger boy righted his head and took a deep breath before seriously continuing, "Actually, Shino, I wanted to ask something, something important."

A content silence encouraged Kiba to keep talking, though he cast his gaze everywhere but at the one he was addressing. "I…I was wondering. What you thought…about…an, uh, 'us'?" Between the uneasy pauses to embarrassedly scratch the back of his head, Kiba managed to get the words out before finally glancing at Shino to see his reaction, his cheeks bright red.

Shino almost smiled at how predicable Kiba was, getting straight to the point. Almost.

Instead, Shino decided something else would be far more effective than a smile.

So, rather than use words, which were admittedly not Shino's strong point, Shino leaned forward before hesitating. His face was mere inches apart from Kiba's rather reddish one and, with no signs of Kiba wanting him to halt, Shino completed the kiss.

And when their lips met, he swore that sparks flew.


	5. Epilogue

**Surprise! I made an epilogue after some PMing with MikaE123. Thanks for guilt-tripping/inspiring me to write this :) …I wonder if anyone still reads this? Anyways, enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

A pair of eyes, one blue and one yellow, sparkled with barely contained mirth while the smallest of smirks graced the facial features of Mekko Kiishi. Beside her, Kaene nudged her and shot her a gently chiding look, his amber eyes blinking once.

Mekko rolled her eyes, but complied to her bonded's wishes. Taking a deep breath, she slowly relaxed, allowing her face to morph into an impassive and expressionless mask as her eyes became guarded. The large black feline at her side happily rubbed his face against her thigh approvingly.

It had been a week since the deal between the cat handler and Kiba, and now it was time for the Kiishi Clan to depart from Konoha. Elder Shiroihi was simply saying a few parting farewells, more out of formality than anything else, and Mekko, along with most of her clan, was getting antsy. The Kiishi Clan was unused to staying in one place for so long, and it made them nervous.

"Lady Tsunade, I, Shiroihi Tora of the Kiishi Clan, thank you on behalf of my clan for allowing us such hospitality for so long. It is with the utmost regret that I announce that we must now be on our way. Thank you." The elderly woman bowed low, the black and white beast next to her also lowering his great head in respect.

Zoning out, Mekko allowed her gaze to stray to the group of young ninja–mainly chunin–that stood behind Tsunade as the Hokage exchanged ceremonial words with Shiroihi. She bit a smirk that threatened to surface as her eyes found Kiba standing beside Shino.

Although a stranger wouldn't have noticed, Mekko's sharp eyes easily found evidence that their newfound relationship was going well, and had the potential to keep going strong for a long while to come.

For one thing, though Kiba wasn't standing particularly close to Shino, Mekko saw that it was much closer than she'd seen anyone else get to Shino, who was exuding a strong aura of contentment. She wondered, momentarily, if Kiba had noticed. From the happy, doggish grin that was plastered on the boy's face, Mekko decided that he had.

Again, her face twitched with the want to just full-out laugh at the arrogance that shone in Kiba's eyes. Apparently, he was still under the impression that Mekko had utterly failed in her half of their bet.

_That's all you know, _Mekko thought smugly.

In reality, from the very moment she'd established the deal, Mekko had planned everything out; and it had all fallen right into place. From her driving Shino away into Kiba's arms, and Kiba_ 'just happening'_ to find Shino alone in the woods, it had all been mapped out by the cat handler.

And she was damn proud of it, though it had, admittedly, taken a bit more string-pulling than Mekko had first anticipated.

For example, when Shino had fled from Kiba's kiss to the safety of his home territory, Mekko hadn't been sure how to get him out of there so Kiba could find the bug handler and seal the deal. In fact, she had been _this_ close to making an appearance and trying to convince him to confront Kiba.

But now that she looked back on it, Mekko knew that would've been a fatal move in the game. It most likely would've sent Shino running in the opposite direction just to spite her. Luckily, with Kaene's help, she'd held herself in check and allowed nature to take its course, which had helped her out in the long run.

Actually, Kaene had played a rather big role in this game of matchmaker. If it weren't for her bonded, Mekko never would've been able to keep tabs on both Shino and Kiba, and ultimately would've failed.

It was only thanks to the huge feline that Mekko had been able to locate Kiba so quickly after seeing Shino go into the woods alone and tip off the dog-nin. Not that she'd ever admit to doing that…

* * *

_I watched the young male human–what was his name? Kiba or something?–walk dejectedly around the outskirts of the village, his huge bonded mutt was trailing with its long white tail dragging on the ground. I swear if 'Kiba' had a tail, his would've been dragging in the dirt as well. Watching the boy despondently kick aside a stray pebble in his way, I saw the stone skid away into the woods from my vantage point in one of the many trees surrounding the village. _

_I noticed the white mutt perk his head up at the rock racing away, and I accidentally let my tail twitch in amusement. Wrong move. _

_Instantly, Kiba's eyes shot up to my hiding spot, and I froze, allowing my dark pelt to blend into the shadows of the foliage. I knew he wouldn't be able to spot or scent me–no, I'd hidden too well for that–but I shivered all the same as his dark eyes scanned over me. _

_It wasn't natural for a _human_ to have such animalistic eyes. _

_"How's he holding up?" _

_I flicked my ear in acknowledgment as my master appeared at my side, silent as ever. Nodding towards the boy and Akamaru–yes, that was his name–I saw her gaze flit to them before she grinned, flashing fangs that rivaled the size of my own. _

_"Perfect. Good job, Kaene." _

_I felt a warm flush creep into my being and branch out until my whole body had been touched by the welcome sensation, and I closed my eyes in pleasure, very nearly purring aloud. I loved when Mekko praised me. _

_"Alright, time to move on to phase two." Pulling a small bottle from a back pocket in her pants, Mekko silently unstoppered it and wetted the tips of her fingers with the substance in the small bottle. I nearly recoiled from the harsh tang of scent that assaulted my sensitive nose. Curling my lip in disgust and flattening my ears to my skull, I eyed the reeking stuff, noticing that Mekko's nose had wrinkled in revulsion as well. _

_"This is scent from a female dog's sex glands, and should _definitely_ get Akamaru's attention," Mekko told me, gazing at my indignant expression. "Oh come on, Kaene," she whispered. "It's just this one time. I promise I won't ever douse you in a female dog's sex scent ever again." _

_I glared at her, making sure my amber eyes told her she freaking _owed_ me. Then I stood and stepped closer to allow her to apply the nasty gunk, my whiskers twitching in annoyance. _

_"Thank you," Mekko said gleefully and proceeded to make me smell like a horny bitch. Just wonderful._

_When we were finally done, Mekko muttered what to do in my ear before disappearing to keep an eye on everything as I executed the plan. _

_Leaping down from my perch, I quickly trotted along the line of trees, just deep enough within the forest to stay out of sight. Luckily, the slight breeze was blowing my scent straight to Akamaru's waiting nose. It sure got his attention quick. _

_Haring away into the trees, I barely managed to stay ahead of Akamaru's crashing through the woods, hot on my tail, and hardly heard Kiba yelling, "Hey, Akamaru! Where you going?" _

_Arriving at the designated clearing, I took a sharp turn to lead Akamaru away, so he wouldn't distract Kiba from the boy who smelled like insects. I would _not_ tolerate the plan failing after being put through all this. Finally, I slowed my pace to let the mutt catch up with me. _

_When he finally did, I could clearly scent his disappointment and flicked his shoulder with my tail in a silent apology. Our humans weren't the only ones who'd made fast friends. I was rather fond of the stupid dog, not that I'd ever admit it. _

_Catching sight of Kiba approaching the human who smelled of bugs, I gestured with my tail in their direction. Akamaru immediately perked up and watched with fascination, sitting back on his haunches. Allowing myself to do the same, the two of us watched, intrigued. _

_I saw Akamaru cock his head in confusion at the sudden feeling of apprehension that was emanating from the clearing. I didn't blame him–humans were confusing creatures–so I just shrugged one shoulder, a trick I'd picked up from the aforementioned 'confusing creatures.'_

_Although I had no idea of what was going on, when the tense atmosphere dissipated as the two humans' mouths touched for the second time, I sensed that our job was now complete. Standing, I nodded my dismissal to Akamaru before going in search of my own human. _

_I couldn't wait to wipe my pungent-smelling fur all over her and see how _she_ liked it. _

* * *

A flash of brown and black suddenly threw Mekko back into the present, and the 16 year-old girl was surprised to see that all around her, the Kiishi Clan was leaving Konoha at last.

_Guess it's time to go,_ Mekko thought, feeling a twinge of regret as she turned to follow her clan. She was now the last one.

"Wait." said a soft voice as a hand circled her wrist, tugging her back around.

Mekko was astonished to see…Kiba? Akamaru happily wagged his tail as he sat at his master's feet, tongue lolling out. Kaene purred in amusement at the sight.

"…Yes?" Mekko was unsure of what Kiba was doing, and it made her wary, though she was certain it wasn't going to be anything bad. No, they'd grown too close in the past week for something like that. Anyhow, it seemed to be something important.

Kiba's lips quirked upward haughtily as he gazed deep into her eyes, leaned in slightly, and quietly whispered, "I told you so."

And just like that, the moment was gone.

For a moment, Mekko wanted to punch the older boy, completely annoyed that he'd stopped her from following her clan just to say that he'd been right. But just before she lashed out, Kaene placed a single paw on Mekko's thigh, extending his claws slightly so that they pricked her skin in warning.

Glancing down, Mekko was met with a surprisingly intense amber glare. She mentally sighed. Kaene was right, she _was_ missing the big picture.

Looking back at Kiba, the cat handler searched his dark eyes and was bewildered to find a hidden message in their depths:

_Thank you._

Blinking in confusion, Mekko tipped her head to the side just slightly. _Thanks for what?_

Kiba's smirk melted into a genuine smile as he released her wrist to extend his hand in a simple handshake. Nevertheless, Mekko easily read into the action, which was just a cover up to hide his true thoughts: _Thanks for _him_._

Taking his hand, Mekko smiled as well, wordlessly responding,_ That wasn't me, it was you._

"Good-bye."

Squeezing Kiba's hand slightly in her own silent farewell, Mekko let go and turned to follow her clan. Kaene gave Akamaru a quick, affectionate nuzzle before trotting to follow his master.

Mekko didn't look back.

Why should she when Mekko was certain that Kiba and Shino would be just fine without her?


End file.
